Let me set the record straight. I am absolutely and utterly against the killing of innocent people. Hopefully you are too, and if you aren't, please locate the nearest police station immediately and let the police know, because you frighten me.
More than likely I will find that most people are like me. For whatever reason, whether because of morality issues or just a natural distaste for legal hassles, most people in this country are against the killing of innocent people. If I am wrong about this, please let me know so that I can buy a ticket to France as soon as possible.
The fact that most people are against the killing of innocents probably means that they would be against a system that makes a lot of mistakes when deciding between death and life for people. Or, if they weren't against it, they would at least think that it should be improved so that fewer mistakes are made.
Which is why there is so much focus being given to the death penalty system in the United States these days. According to The Arizona Republic and www.Reuters.com, a recent report sponsored by Columbia University has found that "68 percent of all death verdicts reviewed from 1973-1995 were reversed by courts due to serious error." Out of that 68 percent, 9 percent of the people were found not guilty during the retrial and let go.
Arizona, in fact, was one of the top ten states with the highest death penalty error ratings, meaning that a number of cases that initially called for the death penalty were then reversed during numerous appeals because many mistakes had been made. Among other things, some common mistakes included incompetent legal counsel, the suppression of evidence by investigators, and incorrect instructions given to jurors.
Is it any wonder that there are so many people against the death penalty when the system makes so many mistakes?
Certainly, many people are against capital punishment for religious reasons and such, but I am willing to bet that there is a significant amount of people who are against it just because the system is so flawed. And the fact that Arizona had a 79 percent error rating in terms of death penalty cases is not going to be changing anyone's mind anytime soon.
There is evidence to support that the system is flawed in other ways as well. According to www.Reuters.com, the study also reports that "innocent people are more likely to be sentenced to die in America in areas that zealously use the death penalty, have higher black populations and where judges face political pressure."
Personally, I am for the death penalty in extreme cases. I believe there are some crimes that are so horrible that the criminals deserve the death penalty for them. Such crimes fall into the category that Columbia Law Professor James Liebman, who oversaw the study, described as "the worst of the worst cases." In fact, the study indicates that the more horrible the case, the less likely a mistake was made.
So I am in support of the death penalty in extreme cases. However, as of now, I think the death penalty should be put on hold until this country can figure out a way to make it better. The system needs to be fine-tuned so that fewer mistakes are made. Not only that, but new procedures need to be created so that the system can handle the influx of evidence provided by DNA fingerprinting and such.
Innocent people are being executed while the real criminals are going free. That alone should be enough to make every lawmaker in the country stop and think a bit about how things might be better. The country needs to figure out a better way to deal with those people who don't care about the lives of innocent people as much as I, and many other people, do.
Jonathan Winkler is a mathematics sophomore. Reach him at jonathan.winkler@asu.edu
